[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 42.
...
...
"Here is my resignation from the ANBU."
The young Uchiha approached the Hokage with the mission, on the same day Minato came to inform them that he would be switching teams.
Hanabi was with her, wearing an indifferent expression, while Hiruzen guided his gaze down to the papers in his hands. They were formal documents of resignation from the ANBU, well-prepared, almost not looking like they were put together today. After all, they came here after Minato informed the village leadership's decision.
"I see... So you've left the team. I'm sure you could still contribute to the village if you stayed. You're both excellent shinobi for assault and tracking," he said, fully aware of the potential the girl from the Uchiha clan and the girl from the Hyuuga clan held.
"I no longer feel comfortable staying in the ANBU. There's no reason for us to stay there anymore," Mikoto replied with a serious tone, while the Hokage merely sighed, also knowing that Hanabi shared the same feeling.
"Very well. The village will accept your request to leave the ANBU," Hiruzen said, accepting it, as Mikoto and Hanabi nodded.
"And what do you plan to do? Will you resume missions? You'll need a team if that's the case," he asked.
"No. We'll take some time off to train," Mikoto replied, as the Hokage nodded, seeing no issue with that. But, of course, he knew they weren't being entirely honest. They didn't want to rejoin any team immediately. They probably needed to find a suitable group on their own.
"Alright. You're dismissed then," Hiruzen said, as Mikoto and Hanabi nodded, leaving the place.
"Looks like we left faster than we thought... Good thing we already had our resignation letters ready," Hanabi murmured with a serious tone.
"Yeah... Minato was right that they would do this..." Mikoto replied.
They hadn't even waited to be introduced to the new captain. As soon as Minato brought the new information, they immediately asked for leave to go to the Hokage's office and demanded their exit from the ANBU that very morning.
While Minato proceeded with his new team, Mikoto felt a little concerned for him. But that was his decision, and she trusted that he could handle anything, even if she wasn't by his side all the time anymore.
Leaving the office, they headed toward Minato's apartment. Hanabi also wanted to speak with him after everything that happened that day. Quickly, they began leaping across rooftops, advancing toward the center of Konoha. Minato had an apartment given by the village itself.
They approached the door. Mikoto paused for a moment, holding the key, while her gaze drifted to the side. Hanabi also looked — it was the neighbor's door. The same woman who, over a year ago, had strange intentions toward Minato.
But that was over. Mikoto had put an end to that personally, with force. When she saw the situation, she showed no mercy to the lady, and since then, that woman had never dared to approach Minato again.
"What are you looking at, woman?" Mikoto murmured, activating her Sharingan.
The neighbor, frightened, quickly shut the door. She no longer dared to spy on that handsome young man, for she knew she had no chance. Her dreams of "winning him over" were crushed by Mikoto's firm presence, whom the old woman now labeled as "violent" and "crazy."
Either way, they entered without saying another word, closing the door.
"Minato's going to take a while... I'm going to lie down for a bit," Mikoto murmured, while Hanabi nodded.
"I'm going to train my chakra," she said, pulling out some scrolls and sitting on the floor, beginning to open them.
Mikoto took the comforter off the clothesline she had washed yesterday and placed it on the bed before relaxing a little. Since she no longer wanted to be part of the ANBU, she also grabbed a few scrolls and started doing the same as Hanabi, who remained seated on the floor. Mikoto began reading while lying on the bed.
"Minato is in trouble," she murmured, taking the tension out of her voice. She was holding one of the scrolls, eyes fixed on it as if it were obvious.
"You know he always does everything alone. He's always been the strongest, the one who takes the lead in everything. You know that's always frustrated me," she murmured, speaking directly to Hanabi, obviously.
"You and your clan always want to be the strongest," Hanabi said, while Mikoto looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"That's not what I mean, Hanabi. Minato is in trouble, and we shouldn't leave everything for him to solve. You know that's wrong."
"But... compared to him, we're not stronger. Not even my eye can compare to his sensory ability... no matter how much we train, he always ends up way stronger," Hanabi commented.
"Yes, that's true. But are we just going to let him drift away from us? Are we giving up that easily? We need to get stronger," Mikoto said with a serious look.
"We're trying, Mikoto... But what else do you think would be enough?" Hanabi murmured. She didn't believe she could reach Minato's level, even though she truly wanted to help him. After all, like all of them, Hanabi loved him.
"I will get stronger, Hanabi. I swear to you I'll become much stronger. I'll protect Minato. I'll fight by his side," Mikoto said, as her Sharingan activated, transforming into the Mangekyou Sharingan right there while still lying down and looking at the scroll.
Hanabi stayed silent upon seeing that, but was certainly impressed by the confidence Mikoto had.
She didn't respond and went back to handling the scrolls, while Mikoto deactivated her Sharingan, returning to her reading.
After a while, Mikoto placed the scrolls she was reading next to the bed and remained lying down, waiting for time to pass. They both only got up to eat something in the middle of the day, and afterward Mikoto resumed her chakra control training just like Hanabi.
It was only late in the afternoon that Minato returned to the apartment, appearing in the middle of the living room.
"You two are here..." he murmured with a sigh, looking mentally exhausted.
"How's your team?" Mikoto asked from a corner of the house, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, staring at him seriously.
"They're all from the Root, as I expected," Minato said. He could definitely feel all the emotions coming from that squad — caution, fear, anger... even envy. He knew they were all watching him closely.
Minato had only done a formal introduction, learning each of their names. While speaking briefly, he had already memorized each of their files. There was no need to ask about dreams or goals, as these weren't genin fresh out of the academy, but rather a group trained and molded by the ANBU to protect the village — even more so, emotionless puppets produced by Danzou.
"Are you in danger?" Hanabi asked, worried.
"No. Even though they're all jounin, with five of them being elite jounin, none of them can hurt me. None of them know much about my intangibility. I'm sure the Hokage and Danzou have heard of it. They're always keeping an eye on the rumors about my abilities, but as far as I know, they don't know exactly how it works. So I believe they think I have some kind of light clone or something like that," Minato said.
Because if they really knew about his powers, they would have the whole village chasing after him to study the light fruit Minato possessed.
"Either way, that's going to save me. Besides that, I still have a bit of light-speed," Minato added, quite confident.
Hanabi nodded. Mikoto agreed too, knowing that if he said everything was fine and that he could handle the group, then he was really telling the truth.
"But... you yourself said the village assassinated Sakumo Hatake's reputation. Why wouldn't they do the same to you, Minato? You must be careful," Mikoto warned.
"I'll deal with them in the most appropriate way possible. Either way, I'll just manage it for now. I'll be in the ANBU doing missions on the western side of the country, but I'll be around at the same time if you need my help," he said, while Mikoto and Hanabi nodded.
"Anyway... I hope you left something for me." Minato smiled as he moved toward the kitchen to grab something to eat.
After that, Hanabi left Minato's apartment and returned to her clan. On the way, she first stopped by the Senju clan, going there to find Tsunade and inform her about her departure, along with Mikoto, from the ANBU.
"I see... I couldn't go there today, but I'll speak with Mikoto by tomorrow," Tsunade said, a little surprised by the decision.
Hanabi left the house, and soon after saw Minato reappear at the entrance of Kushina's residence. He greeted her briefly and went on to see the red-haired Uzumaki.
Hanabi, meanwhile, returned to the Hyuuga clan. She was thoughtful about everything.
She passed through the clan gates without anyone stopping her. Everyone feared her in a way, and ever since those events, she was never bothered again. After all, when someone tried to activate the seal that had been placed on her forehead, they were suddenly struck so fast that they didn't even have time to react.
Thanks to Minato and his Raijin — a signal was sent as soon as Hanabi felt pain from the seal. Of course, many questions arose. They even threatened her grandfather. But every time they tried to tighten the control of the seal, they were attacked as well.
In the end, after sending two dozen members — among them leaders and even elders of the clan — to the hospital, speaking about Hanabi became taboo. No one stopped her from anything anymore.
Even though she was still verbally restrained, Hanabi was firm, saying she would act the same way again. That was her way of fighting and her ninja path. And she would never abandon her friends or stop using her bow — the weapon she had developed herself and which had become her main companion in battle, being the only Hyuuga capable of casting spells at long range.
She approached her house and found her grandfather watering some plants that night.
"So, my granddaughter... you've arrived," he murmured, looking at her directly with his white eyes.
"Have you eaten already?" he asked next.
"Yes, I have, Grandpa. I'm going to lie down," she said at last, still not mentioning her departure from the ANBU. She'd leave that for the next day.
She went straight to her room, lying down on her bed on the floor.
She was thinking about Minato. Surely, he would be in a difficult situation. But at the same time, she remembered Mikoto's words:
"We have to get strong so we can help and keep up with Minato."
Mikoto's voice echoed in her mind, not just as a warning, but as a calling.
"Strong... Then I must try to do that too," she murmured, trying to push away the thought that she would never catch up to Minato.
She would help him — whether as a companion, wife, or warrior. She would grow stronger, even though she was already one of the strongest and most respected kunoichi of her clan. That's why no one dared mess with her anymore.
Even so, Hanabi believed she needed to evolve further, so she would. She would become even more powerful, easily surpassing any other Hyuuga that had ever existed.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 244 - Sage Mode.
Chapter 249 - The Little Itachi?
Chapter 259 - Kurama.
Chapter 268 - The Uzumaki clan.
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